Embedding Art in Everyday Life: Anu Menda on RMZ Foundation’s Venice Biennale Initiative

Anu Menda is the Chair and Managing Trustee of the RMZ Foundation, where she spearheads initiatives at the intersection of art, community resilience, and urban innovation. A visionary leader in the cultural sector, she is dedicated to democratizing art by integrating contemporary creative practices into everyday public and lived spaces.

Beyond her work at the foundation, Menda is a prominent figure in the global art ecosystem, serving as a Global Council Member at the Delfina Foundation in London and a Platinum Benefactor of the Kochi Biennale Foundation. She is also actively involved with several cultural institutions, including the India Foundation for the Arts, the Bangalore International Centre, and the Crafts Council of Karnataka, consistently advocating for long-term institutional partnerships that support sustainable and equitable cultural development.

In this illuminating conversation with Georgina Maddox, Anu Menda elaborates upon her intellectual patronage that actively shapes contemporary art discourse.

Georgina Maddox: To begin with, could you briefly tell us about your vision and what you set out to build through RMZ foundation?

Anu Menda: To put it in a nutshell, we established ourselves like a decade ago, about 2015. And when we started off, it was very clear that we wanted to be conceived as a platform where art would be, you know, where it could be received and experienced in a very expansive way. So it was really about building out an ecosystem where the experience, the expansion, and the engagement of art would be received.

So to sort of take it outside your traditional viewership bases or traditional venues, it was about the shared spaces of where it gets embedded within—where one works, lives, eats, and plays. So the idea was to embed the contemporary art ecosystem within lived spaces, and in turn build out a longstanding, endurable cultural ecosystem.

So that really was the vision and the mission. If one would look at it, it was about ecosystem, about experience for the audiences, the expansion of art itself—art being a catalyst for dialogue, for empowerment, both for the viewer as well as for the artist to expand one’s practice, and in turn bring about a community and a social cohesion. So that I would say was the very essence.

And then we started with long—we started with monumental scale large sculptures which were housed within our spaces. And that further expanded into a layered system of thinking where our spaces had this cultural layering of physicality and the tangible feature of the touch and feel of physical art, and then the intangible and the soft power of art would come through the long-term institutional partnerships and where we’d have community engagements of programming.

So far, we’ve engaged with Asia Society at the Game Changer Awards, with Art Mumbai, where we showcased a wonderful artist. In 2024, we showcased this Canadian artist, Mona Rebez—there were these two large totemic plexi structures talking about the human condition—and then we had a collaborative engagement with the community there.

Then we are also patrons of the Kochi Biennale Foundation, which is one of the best cultural platforms for showcasing India in its contemporary as well as global cultural exchange, encouraging students. And now there have been such activities with the Venice Biennale.

Hylozoic/Desires (Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser), Salt Lines, 2025 | Image Courtesy: RMZ Foundation

We are extending our support to Himali and David Soin Tappeser. They are multidisciplinary artists who have been selected by the late curator, who was looking to have a very informed and different curatorial vision for this Biennale—focused on histories, ecology, and layered narratives, not in a loud or bombastic way but through quieter storytelling.

So we extend our support to artists within our spaces and outside. That is really what we mean by expanding frameworks—enabling them to stretch their practice and go outside the box. And we’ve done that with Shilpa Gupta, “Listening Air” in a historical setting at Jodhpur Art Week, and now at Venice.

So really, it’s about long-term institutional partnerships and being one of the key stakeholders and responsible builders of the art and cultural ecosystem. That’s where we see ourselves.

Masks, Narayan Singha | Image Courtesy: RMZ Foundation

Georgina Maddox: Would there be some communication between Amin Jaffer’s project and yours, or is it completely separate? How does that work?

Anu Menda: So it’s nice that this time there’s going to be quite a bit of India presence, and we’re going to see India in a contemporary setting. It’s not your typical commissions that have happened in the past where it’s been more heritage-driven.

So what Amin is doing is again a wonderful representation of bringing voices of sustainability, marginalised narratives, layered, nuanced narratives. And likewise, we are doing so as well. We’re under embargo—we can’t disclose too much—but we’re all co-collaborating in a wonderful way to see that we’re all helping shape and bring India to the fore on a global stage as active participants.

And see that we’re not going to be just a one-time showcase—we’re going to be consistent, and we are voices that cannot be ignored. And we’re going to be shaping what contemporary art and the advances of global exchange really mean today.

We have four people there at the National Pavilion and two that have been selected within the main pavilion. There are many other collaterals happening by individual private-public partnerships, which is all very reassuring.

It’s really about the engagement, the expansion, and the active participation of bringing India closer to the global narrative and amplifying voices of our artists, rightfully so.

Georgina Maddox: You mentioned that India is not going to be ignored. There has been a lull in representation—what are your expectations now, and will this be sustained?

Anu Menda: Yeah, I think it’s now more about long-term cultural engagement, and that’s how everyone is seeing it. So there’s that whole language and narrative which ties up with the artist, with the curator, with the community. And there’s that real cross-cultural exchange that happens.

They’re touching upon common topics which are ecology, socio-economic, political issues in today’s world, where everything is sort of… you know, the complex issues get addressed quite beautifully because it’s now quite research-led.

There’s a lot—it’s not just a peripheral gesture anymore. I think there’s a lot of engagement with what’s really happening. And there’s that co-collaboration that’s happening. And it’s not about just programming and doing one project for the sake of it and ticking it off.

It’s about relevance—what is contemporary, what are the topics—and that’s what’s being shaped and addressed. And even the entire curatorial theme is about “in minor keys,” which is those that weren’t in the forefront.

So it’s really coming in line with all of that to get a better understanding. And I think the cultural value and the stewardship that each one is going to bring forward is going to be much more intentional.

So the communication has really amplified, there’s more engagement, and even the community—art by nature has that nurturing DNA, so it builds that cohesiveness at large.

It has that transformative effect—for one to pause, reflect, review, and renew one’s commitment towards shaping future conversations, using the soft power of art to catalyse things that are central and topical.

So we’re going to have conversations, we’re going to collaborate on ground in Venice—it’s not just a show and tell. There will be an intimate discourse with artists, curators, and audiences.

Georgina Maddox: How would you be engaging the public—both at Venice and otherwise?

Anu Menda: So I think it’s about bringing artworks within our spaces—large-scale sculptural works, murals, paintings—so that the immediate community can experience the physicality of art.

It allows the artist to express their vision and expand their practice, especially when juxtaposed with architecture. Materiality, sustainability, design intent, messaging—all of it comes into play. Every space becomes an extension of the city it inhabits.

There is always an overarching theme—it could be sustainability, aligning with the UN Sustainable Development Goals that we adhere to.

Going forward, all engagements—whether programming within our spaces or educational initiatives—bring communities together to talk about ecology, sustainability, and other social issues.

Outside our spaces, we engage through institutional collaborations—exhibiting in historical settings, making art accessible to the public.

The entire idea is to break barriers and bring accessibility to the forefront. With engagement comes curiosity, and with curiosity comes conversation. And that’s how a cultural turn happens.

So it’s really about collection, everyday interaction, democratization, accessibility, expansion—and not being boxed into a format, but being an expansive ecosystem enabler.

Georgina Maddox: Do you feel the Venice Biennale is the right place for these conversations, or is it a bit exclusive?

Anu Menda: No, I think the beauty of it is that it’s really a celebration of the city and it’s for the people. Whether we’re talking about Kochi or Venice, geographically they may seem distant, but everyone is coming together.

That’s the power of it—it’s for the people. It fosters conversations, minimizes man-made geographies, and expands cultural exchange and global understanding.

So I think active participation in platforms like this will help shape the global narrative and bring India’s contemporary voice to the forefront—which is known but needs to be further amplified.

We have diversity, depth, and cultural heritage, but we also want to showcase the contemporary narrative. And if it means demonstrating this internationally, then that helps build accessibility and visibility.

You build the system, sustain it, and that creates a chain reaction. It’s about building communities where collaborations happen, and art as a universal language dissolves borders and empowers future generations.

Georgina Maddox: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Anu Menda: I would also say that we’ve been specially focusing on female artists and have been able to showcase and amplify diverse and influential voices—both domestic and international.

From artists like Shilpa Gupta, Manisha Parekh, Shikha Al Marzoo, Mona Rebez, Aisha Singh, Suhasini Kejriwal, and now Himali—it’s been a wonderful journey to be part of their evolving career paths.

We Change Each Other, Shilpa Gupta | Image Courtesy: RMZ Foundation

So that’s something we’ve strongly held close—to enhance and support. And overall, art humanises complex issues, and we are very excited to be at Venice and support our artists in showcasing their work.

Cover Image: Reina Mariana, Manolo Valdés | Image Courtesy: RMZ Foundation